Dr. Falguni Navetiya Daughter to a prominent businessman in Calcutta and a Gujarati by birth – Falguni, faced great opposition from her family when she decided to marry Arun. Arun – a cancer patient since he was 10 years old had been subject to many relapses and various other ailments. She refused to succumb to…
Archana Rajender Hegde Archana Hegde’s village in the rural Uttara Kannada district is a major trading centre for areca nuts. Many villagers live in abject poverty, working as daily wage labourers in the nut farms for the six-month production cycle. In the off-season, it is common for the men to migrate to cities in search…
Archanatai Jatkar Archanatai Jatkar had many goals in mind to accomplish when she stood for the Gram Panchayat election in 2005. From the outset, amongst her priorities were the development of her village, quality education for children and better livelihood prospects for women. Elected as a female sarpanch of Pokhari in Yavatmal district (Maharashtra), she…
Rashida Bee A victim of the Bhopal gas tragedy – Rashida Bee’s world changed drastically on the unfortunate night in December 1984. A leakage of more than 27 tons of industrial poisonous gas led to the death of 8000 residents and a dark future for the coming generations in the city.Married at the young age…
Dr P. Bhanumati Dr P. Bhanumati, a Zoology professor from Thrissur, Kerala, grew up with three mentally challenged siblings. One tragic day, she lost her brother who was suffering from a throat problem. Bhanumathi felt that due to her brother’s mental illness, his case was treated as a low priority for the doctor and he…
Sonali Mukherjee Sonali Mukherjee was a bright 17-year-old student from Dhanbad, who loved studying and was pursuing her Sociology Honours, until a tragic summer night changed her life forever. Regularly teased and stalked by a disgruntled suitor and his friends in the neighborhood, she decided to take a stand and protest, despite their death threats.…
Jaya Devi Jaya Devi, also known as the Green Lady of Munger Bihar, grew up witnessing poverty, hunger and brutality towards women and children, thinking her future would be no different. She was forced to discontinue her education while in class IV due to threats from Naxalites, a militant communist group in the region. She…
Bertha G Dkhar Bertha G DkharBorn with an eye disease (Retinitis Pigmentosa), Bertha G Dkhar completely lost her eyesight while pursuing her Masters in Social Work in Bangalore. With that she also lost her dream of doing psychiatric social work and decided to return to her native place, Shillong. Unfortunately, all her efforts of getting…
Chandra Tomar Almost ten years ago, Chandro Tomar took her granddaughter to a local firing range. In doing so, Tomar accidentally discovered her own natural talent for shooting. Hailing from the Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh, she was 65 when she first picked up a rifle. The instructor at the time spotted Tomar’s talent. He…
Thinlas Chorol Thinlas Chorol was born in Takmachik, a small village in Ladakh’s Sham region. Her mother died when Thinlas was only a baby and Thinlas’ father took care of her. For fear of losing another parent, Thinlas would not let her father out her sight and accompanied him into the mountains to look after…
